Best--worst scaling: What it can do for health care research and how to do it.

https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/9747/1/2008000008.pdf

Valuing the ICECAP capability index for older people

Part I The first part of the paper is devoted to the monetary indicators of social welfare. It is shown which methods of quantitative estimating the aggregate wealth and well-being are available in the modern economic theory apart from the traditional GDP measure. The limitations of the methods are also discussed. The author shows which measures of welfare are adequate in the dynamic context: he considers the problems of intertemporal welfare analysis using the Net National Product (NNP) for the sustainability policy and in the context of concern for well-being of the future generations.

Beyond GDP: The Quest for a Measure of Social Welfare

Purpose
The benefits of health and social care are not confined to patient health alone and therefore broader measures of wellbeing may be useful for economic evaluation. This paper reports the development of a simple measure of capability wellbeing for adults (ICECAP-A).

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11136-011-9927-2.pdf

Development of a self-report measure of capability wellbeing for adults: the ICECAP-A.

Attribute generation for discrete choice experiments (DCEs) is often poorly reported, and it is unclear whether this element of research is conducted rigorously. This paper explores issues associated with developing attributes for DCEs and contrasts different qualitative approaches. The paper draws on eight studies, four developed attributes for measures, and four developed attributes for more ad hoc policy questions. Issues that have become apparent through these studies include the following: the theoretical framework for random utility theory and the need for attributes that are neither too close to the latent construct nor too intrinsic to people's personality; the need to think about attribute development as a two-stage process involving conceptual development followed by refinement of language to convey the intended meaning; and the difficulty in resolving tensions inherent in the reductiveness of condensing complex and nuanced qualitative findings into precise terms. The comparison of alternative qualitative approaches suggests that the nature of data collection will depend both on the characteristics of the question (its sensitivity, for example) and the availability of existing qualitative information. An iterative, constant comparative approach to analysis is recommended. Finally, the paper provides a series of recommendations for improving the reporting of this element of DCE studies.

Using qualitative methods for attribute development for discrete choice experiments: issues and recommendations.

Developing attributes for a generic quality of life measure for older people: preferences or capabilities?

The starting point of this research was the concern that the circumstances, let alone quality of life, of those who migrated to England during the postwar period and who are now progressing into early old age and retirement, have only recently become an issue for research and policy. The study treats quality of life as a phenomenon (comprising the domains control, autonomy, pleasure, and self‐realisation) distinct from its potential influences. Qualitative interviews with respondents from four ethnically homogeneous groups (Jamaican Caribbean, Gujarati Indian Hindu, Punjabi Pakistani, and white English) identified six factors that influenced their quality of life: having a role, support networks, income and wealth, health, having time, and independence. Findings suggest that while both the influences on quality of life and the domains of quality of life were consistent across the ethnic groups, it was the ways in which they played out in people's lives that revealed ethnic variations.

Influences on quality of life: A qualitative investigation of ethnic differences among older people in England

Taking part in a randomised control trial:a participant’s eye-view of the Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot

Economic evaluation requires monetary measures or a single outcome for use across all interventions to assist decisions about service provision. Monetary values can be estimated through willingness to pay methods but there are difficulties, with few analyses successfully using these methods to value all outcomes (Drummond et al., 2005). Instead, economic evaluation most often uses a single outcome. The quality-adjusted life-year (QALY), as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK (NICE, 2004), has become the dominant measure within economic evaluation. QALYs may be formed from a number of different measures, including the EQ-5D (Brooks, 1996), the SF-36 (Brazier et al., 2002) and the Health Utility Index (Horsman et al., 2003), but all focus entirely on health as the outcome of interest. The majority of analyses in the UK are currently conducted using EQ-5D, a measure with five dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression) each with three levels (Brooks, 1996).

Jane Lewis

Papers

Valuing the ICECAP capability index for older people

Developing attributes for a generic quality of life measure for older people: preferences or capabilities?

Influences on quality of life: A qualitative investigation of ethnic differences among older people in England

Taking part in a randomised control trial:a participant’s eye-view of the Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot

Developing an Index of Capability for Older People: A New Form of Measure for Public Health Interventions?